Darton，thefather，hadbeenaone-idea’dcharacter，withabuttoned-uppocketandachink-likeeyebrimmingwithcommercialsubtlety。InDartontheson，thistradesubtletyhadbecometransmutedintoemotional，andtheharshnesshaddisappeared；hewouldhavebeencalledasadmanbutforhisconstantcarenottodividehimselffromlivelyfriendsbypipingnotesoutofharmonywiththeirs。Contemplative，heallowedhismindtobeaquietmeeting-placeformemoriesandhopes。Sothat，naturallyenough，sincesucceedingtotheagriculturalcalling，anduptohispresentageofthirty-two，hehadneitheradvancednorrecededasacapitalist——astationaryresultwhichdidnotagitateoneofhisunambitious，unstrategicnature，sincehehadallthathedesired。
ThemotiveofhisexpeditiontonightshowedthesameabsenceofanxiousregardforNumberOne。
Thepartyrodeonintheslow，safetrotpropertonight-timeandbadroads，FarmerDarton’sheadjiggingratherunromanticallyupanddownagainstthesky，andhismotionsbeingrepeatedwithbolderemphasisbyhisfriendJaphethJohns；whilethoseofthelatterweretravestiedinjerksstilllesssoftenedbyartinthepersonoftheladwhoattendedthem。Apairofwhitishobjectshungoneoneachsideofthelatter，bumpingagainsthimateachstep，andstillfurtherspoilingthegraceofhisseat。Oncloseinspectiontheymighthavebeenperceivedtobeopenrushbaskets——onecontainingaturkey，andtheothersomebottlesofwine。
’D’yefeelyecanmeetyourfatelikeaman，neighbourDarton？’
askedJohns，breakingasilencewhichhadlastedwhilefive-and-